The Top Underwater Games You Can Try With Your Scuba Gear
It goes without saying that diving is one of the most enjoyable sports out there. So, how on earth could you make it more fun? Well, it turns out that there is such a thing as diving games. These games are most commonly used for children who are learning to dive, making the instructional process more interesting and helping them to engage more during lessons. However, many adults also take part in these activities to help develop their motor skills, swimming, agility and general diving technique. So, whether you are looking to improve your diving or you simply want to have some fun, we have listed our top 5 scuba diving games for you to enjoy.
- Egg and spoon race
The egg and spoon race is something most of us are familiar with, having competed against our peers in school races. But what about an egg and spoon race underwater?
Of course, it is not sensible to use a real egg for fear of it contaminating the water. Instead, we would recommend you use a ping-pong ball, held under water by the spoon (a kind of upside down, underwater egg and spoon race). This race is good for those of you with steady hands and nice even swimming. If the ball is dropped and floats to the surface, the diver may catch it but only with the spoon. And they must return it to the bottom of the pool before continuing.
This event can be played as a relay or simply as a race. You could even increase the difficulty level by adding a few hoops and other obstacles along the way.
- Target Frisbee
Mix it up by playing a game of target frisbee. Each diver gets three attempts to throw a frisbee through a hoop before being eliminated. Working across the pool, lane markers can be used to set the throwing line, with the hoop being moved back half a lane at a time. This is a great competitive game that improves a divers control and aim while underwater.
- Hoop Race
A simple relay race along the bottom of the pool is no longer as popular as it once was. The game can be made far more entertaining by adding some hoops to swim through. These are ideal for divers to make use of during buoyancy training. Each diver has to swim cleanly through the hoops, without touching them, from one end of the pool and back again before the next team member can take their turn.
- Somersaults
Somersaulting is something most of us have probably practiced, or attempted, in a pool before. But there are many variations. You can test out the ability of each of your divers by increasing the difficult each time. Start with free-divers, seeing who can turn the most somersaults in one breath. Then move on to those wearing full diving kit to find out who can turn the most somersaults in one minute. If any part of the divers body or equipment breaks the surface, that somersault does not count.
- Underwater obstacle course
Another great game is to create an underwater obstacle course for your divers. An obstacle course is a great game to test a divers agility and movement control, while they are having fun! We would recommend putting hoops they have to swim through, weights on the floor they have to touch and objects they have to collect and put into containers. These ideas may seem simple but, remember, they are doing all of this underwater which is much more difficult.
It is always good to get your divers thinking and working hard. Diving is about using both your brain and your agility simultaneously and to the best of your ability. Here at Oyster Diving, we host diving parties for kids at the age of eight and above where we play several underwater games – some of which have been mentioned in this article! If you would be interested in booking this, please get in touch with us.